Triceratops
Triceratops horridus "Horrible Three-horned Face" Triceratops lived in the late Cretaceous period, about 72 to 65 million years ago, toward the end of the Mesozoic, the Age of Reptiles. It was among the last of the dinosaur species to evolve before the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction 65 million years ago. Among the contemporaries of Triceratops were Tyrannosaurus rex (which probably preyed upon Triceratops), Ankylosaurus (an armored herbivore), Corythosaurus (a hadrosaur), and Dryptosaurus (a meat-eating dinosaur). Triceratops was probably a herding animal, like the other Ceratopsians. This hypothesis is supported by the finding of bone beds, large deposits of bones of the same species in an area. When threatened by predators, Triceratops probably charged into its enemy like the modern-day rhinoceros does. This was probably a very effective defense. No one knows how Triceratops reproduced or raised their young, except that they probably hatched from eggs. Triceratops was a ceratopsian, whose intelligence (as measured by its relative brain to body weight, or EQ) was intermediate among the dinosaurs. Triceratops was an herbivore, a plant eater (a primary consumer). It probably ate cycads and other low-lying plants with its tough beak. Triceratops could chew well with its cheek teeth (like other Ceratopsians, but unlike most other dinosaurs). Triceratops was hunted and eaten by T. rex. Coprolite (fossilized poo) from a T. rex was recently found in Saskatchewan, Canada by a team led by Karen Chin. This 65 million year old specimen contains chunks of bones from an herbivorous (plant-eating) dinosaur which was eaten by the T. rex. This bone fragment is perhaps part of the head frill of aTriceratops. Triceratops walked on four short legs; it was a relatively slow dinosaur. Dinosaur speeds are estimated using their morphology (characteristics like leg length and estimated body mass) and fossilized trackways. Many Triceratops fossils have been found, mostly in western Canada and the western United States. Paleontologist Othniel Marsh named Triceratops in 1889 - from a fossil found near Denver, Colorado, USA. At first this fossil was mistakenly identified as an extinct species of buffalo. The first Triceratops skull was found in 1888 by John Bell Hatcher. About about 50 Triceratops skulls and some partial skeletons have been found. Triceratops was a late Ornithischian dinosaur, the order of bird-hipped, herbivorous dinosaurs. It was a member of the suborder Marginocephalia, and the family of large, horned, herding herbivores, the Ceratopsians. The ceratopsians were one of the last major group of dinosaurs to evolve, and include Psittacosaurus, Leptoceratops, Pachyrhinosaurus, Montanoceratops, Chasmosaurus, Centrosaurus, Triceratops, Styracosaurus, Protoceratops, and others. *'Kingdom' Animalia (animals) *'Phylum' Chordata (having a hollow nerve chord ending in a brain) *'Class' Archosauria (diapsids with socket-set teeth, etc.) *'Order' Ornithischia - bird-hipped dinosaurs (plant-eaters) *Suborder Marginocephalia - *'Infraorder' Ceratopsia (also called Ceratopia) *'Family' Ceratopsidae *'Genus' Triceratops *'Species'T. horridus (type species: Marsh, 1889) There is some disagreement about how many species of Triceratops have been found. Some paleontologists (notably Ostrom and Welnhoffer, 1990) believe there is one species, Triceratops horridus. Others believe that there are two (C. Forster, 1996) or more species, including: Triceratops horridus, Triceratops prorsus, Triceratops albertensis, Triceratops ingens, Triceratops alticornis, and perhaps others. *Print out a K-3 level Triceratops info page to color! *A Triceratops printout with information and a labelled diagram. *A Triceratops skeleton printout. *A first-grade level Triceratops addition activity print-out. *Triceratops Find It! Quiz to print out for grades 2 to 3. *A print-out quiz about Triceratops - Unscramble the answers and see how much you know about Triceratops! For grades 2-3. *A Triceratops math/coloring activity - For second graders. Do 1-digit addition problems to color a Triceratops scene. *A T. rex and Triceratops Activity print-out for beginning readers (advanced first graders to second graders). Students read and follow the directions to complete a Cretaceous scene. *An on-line quiz about Triceratops - answer the questions and you will unscramble the picture of Triceratops! On-line for grades 2-4. *Triceratops Fact Sheet with a printable version. Triceratops Questions and Answers Triceratops from the Smithsonian Museum, Washington, D.C., USA. Category:T Category:Herbivores Category:Ceratopsians